WEBVTT - ANGELA YEE IS BUILDING AN EMPIRE w/ Angela Yee 0:00:01.880 --> 0:00:07.600 Afrotech Executive is our multi city series which empowers corporate executives, investors, 0:00:07.600 --> 0:00:10.080 and tech moguls. And we kick off our twenty twenty 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:12.840 three series with a trip to Seattle to Washington Mark's 0:00:12.880 --> 0:00:15.880 thirtieth We're in the city to discussing artificial intelligence with 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:19.120 Jessica Matthews, founder of Unchared. It be in the house 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:22.720 with us this year for an Afrotech Executive events. Experienced 0:00:22.760 --> 0:00:28.000 dot afrotech dot com to learn more. I'm will Lucas 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:32.120 missus Black Tech, Green Money. I'm gonna entwer to set 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:35.279 to the biggest names, the brightest minds and brilliant ideas. 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:37.839 If you're black, in building, or simply using tech to 0:00:37.880 --> 0:00:46.280 secure your back, this podcast is for you. Angelie is 0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:49.680 a Radio Hall of Fame inductee and multi business entrepreneur 0:00:49.680 --> 0:00:53.080 who runs companies in a variety of industries. She recently 0:00:53.080 --> 0:00:56.040 started her own Solar radio show, What Ye with Angelie 0:00:56.080 --> 0:00:59.480 after a long tenure at the Breakfast Club. As an 0:00:59.600 --> 0:01:02.920 entrepreneur with many holdings, I asked Angela how she determines 0:01:02.960 --> 0:01:06.360 what kind of businesses interest her. Definitely, she gets pissed 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:10.960 all the time on new startups. What catches her attention. Well, 0:01:11.000 --> 0:01:13.320 I think for me, the core things that are most 0:01:13.319 --> 0:01:16.440 important to me have to do with nutrition, and has 0:01:16.480 --> 0:01:20.720 to do with education and with finance, and so I 0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:24.840 look at those different fields and if something and a 0:01:24.840 --> 0:01:27.720 lot of times I actually pursue things that are interesting 0:01:27.760 --> 0:01:30.080 to me. So it's not always that someone comes to me, 0:01:30.440 --> 0:01:32.520 but if I see something that I think is interesting 0:01:33.080 --> 0:01:35.399 or that I want to support, then I'll reach out 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:38.920 about that also. But like I started the Press Juices 0:01:38.959 --> 0:01:40.959 Company on my own. With the juice bar, that was 0:01:41.040 --> 0:01:43.920 my idea. With a coffee company, that was an idea 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:46.240 that got sparked in a meeting. And then with Stellar 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:49.080 Phi that was something that I had been working with 0:01:49.120 --> 0:01:52.840 the founder Lamine on other things that he was doing, 0:01:53.120 --> 0:01:56.080 and then when that opportunity came, I was all in. 0:01:56.200 --> 0:01:59.840 So usually it's a combination of relationships with people, but 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:03.280 I think I make sure that people know what my 0:02:03.760 --> 0:02:06.800 different fields of interests are. So we've had a lot 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:10.360 of conversations on this podcast about you know, black people 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:12.960 and people of color period having an opportunity just to 0:02:13.000 --> 0:02:16.440 be opportunists, and so many things that we're told is like, 0:02:16.480 --> 0:02:18.000 you know, you should lean into things that you've been 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:20.080 passionate about for a long time, or like what did 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:22.440 you grow up wanting to do? But we're not told 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:24.600 like our counterparts are that you can just find an 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:27.920 opportunity and jump on it. When you think about that, 0:02:27.960 --> 0:02:30.240 like how do you think about the opportunities that do 0:02:30.280 --> 0:02:32.160 company you? And you're like, you know, it could be 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:33.720 a bag over there, or it could be just something 0:02:33.720 --> 0:02:35.680 that could be fun. You know, how do you think 0:02:35.680 --> 0:02:39.360 about those types of things. I'm great with getting a 0:02:39.400 --> 0:02:42.320 bag as long as I don't feel like I'm compromising anything. 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:44.520 And so I don't want to get a bag, like 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:48.040 promoting a cigarette company or something that I really don't 0:02:48.040 --> 0:02:51.359 believe in. And certain things I feel like aren't realistic, right, 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:54.079 Like people know I don't eat pork and I don't 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:57.200 eat seafood, so it wouldn't even make sense. And so 0:02:57.760 --> 0:03:01.920 if it's me endorsing something that everyone knows, hey, she 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:04.680 doesn't really do that, then that's I wouldn't do it. 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:07.680 But if it's something that maybe I don't know a 0:03:07.680 --> 0:03:10.040 lot about, but I feel like, okay, this could be 0:03:11.160 --> 0:03:14.639 you know, like for instance, one of my friends, Tapeka, 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:18.400 we're working on a project together right now, and she 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:20.960 has a whole program that's based on women who were 0:03:21.000 --> 0:03:24.960 formerly incarcerated, and so I know for people that's like 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:27.480 a hot topic right now, and it's not something I 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:30.720 knew a lot about, but after speaking to her, it's 0:03:30.720 --> 0:03:33.320 something that I did get more passionate about. And that's 0:03:33.360 --> 0:03:36.440 just when my conversations with her, and so I feel 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:39.200 like we're always expanding and growing. But it is hard 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:42.480 for me to only be opportunistic and see a bag 0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:45.120 usually I have to have, and I know it's not 0:03:45.720 --> 0:03:48.640 financially the smartest thing. I'm more like somebody told me, 0:03:48.640 --> 0:03:52.600 I'm an emotional financial person because I have to feel 0:03:52.640 --> 0:03:55.440 some type of connection. But it has been working for 0:03:55.520 --> 0:03:58.160 me thus far. But I do feel like I could have, 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:02.240 you know, passed up to opportunities. You know, there's a 0:04:02.280 --> 0:04:05.440 lot of people who have really, really great jobs, maybe 0:04:05.440 --> 0:04:10.560 golden handcuffs, and see like they may have to take 0:04:10.560 --> 0:04:12.920 a leap and not not do that anymore and jump 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:15.480 into an entrepreneurship. But can you talk a little bit 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:19.200 about how you think about leveraging your current opportunities too 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:21.599 fuel the opportunities that you want to pursue and you 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:25.440 don't necessarily have to quit what you're doing today. Yeah, 0:04:25.520 --> 0:04:27.400 I feel like me having the platform that I have 0:04:27.520 --> 0:04:30.320 only amplifies all the other businesses that I'm trying to do, 0:04:30.680 --> 0:04:32.960 and really I'm trying to take advantage of it. And 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:35.800 so it's great because I'm on the air every single 0:04:35.960 --> 0:04:39.240 day and I have my social media platforms, but we 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:43.039 also have partnerships with people who want to endorse different things. 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:45.760 And if I can crust promote my product with something else, 0:04:46.200 --> 0:04:48.800 then that's an ideal situation for me. If I can, 0:04:49.400 --> 0:04:51.520 you know, get my coffee to be part of a 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:54.000 program that someone else is doing and now they're paying 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:56.719 for the coffee and I'm getting free advertising, that's like 0:04:56.760 --> 0:04:58.960 a win win win across the board. And so I 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:00.839 think I would be remissed not to do that. I 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:03.160 feel like later on, I don't want to look back 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:06.400 like we look at some of say a reality television person, 0:05:06.560 --> 0:05:08.960 and some of them have had things that have blown 0:05:09.040 --> 0:05:11.760 up just from being on that show and having something 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:13.839 to put out. And I think it's silly not to 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:16.719 have something to promote or to do while you're having 0:05:16.720 --> 0:05:19.400 that platform and you know you are somebody that's in 0:05:19.440 --> 0:05:21.560 the public eye. But if an entrepreneur or would be 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:23.400 entrepreneur comes up to you. It's like, you know, I 0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:25.159 think I got to quit my job to go chase 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:27.720 this thing. What would your advice be for somebody who's 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:30.680 not in the public eye necessarily that maybe you don't 0:05:30.720 --> 0:05:32.440 need to quit your job, but maybe you need to 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:34.640 figure out how to do it from five to nine, 0:05:34.800 --> 0:05:36.800 you know, instead of nine to five. I always feel 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:40.320 like it's important to make sure you plan, and that 0:05:40.360 --> 0:05:42.240 means that you have to have a business plan. You 0:05:42.279 --> 0:05:44.520 have to have strategically figured out. This is how I 0:05:44.560 --> 0:05:47.359 plan to lunch. I'm a big fan of starting something 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:51.320 while I have my little cushion, So starting small and 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:54.520 then letting something grow. So put it out there, launch it, 0:05:54.600 --> 0:05:57.039 do it. I love a soft lunch because that's a 0:05:57.040 --> 0:05:59.479 great way to find out what's working, what's not working, 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:02.120 that you can fix those things before you go full 0:06:02.160 --> 0:06:04.520 force out to the public. And so I would tell 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:06.920 them launch whatever it is that you want to do, 0:06:07.279 --> 0:06:10.600 and make sure that you're saving and aggressively saving, because 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:12.520 I've had to do that too. You know, when I 0:06:12.520 --> 0:06:16.000 bought my first house, I was working non stop because 0:06:16.000 --> 0:06:17.400 I had a goal in mind and a number that 0:06:17.440 --> 0:06:19.640 I knew I needed to hit I knew I needed 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:22.720 to get to I think it was. I could tell 0:06:22.720 --> 0:06:24.560 you exactly what it was. I had to get twenty 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:26.000 five percent. I knew I had to get to like 0:06:26.040 --> 0:06:29.279 two hundred and thirty five thousand dollars in order to 0:06:29.279 --> 0:06:31.400 be able to put down the down payment. And so 0:06:31.560 --> 0:06:33.720 for me, that was like two years of just going 0:06:33.760 --> 0:06:37.800 really hard and getting money, stacking money, doing extracide gigs 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:40.599 and everything. So I think, set a goal, set a number, 0:06:40.600 --> 0:06:42.320 and then when you hit that goal, it's time to go. 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:45.480 But in the meantime, launch it. And let's take the 0:06:45.520 --> 0:06:47.760 opposite of approach that, because there are sometimes you do 0:06:47.839 --> 0:06:49.919 need to take a gamble on yourself and you know, 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:52.839 possibly give up something that other people will see as 0:06:52.920 --> 0:06:55.919 a really coveted thing. So what would you say to 0:06:56.120 --> 0:06:58.119 those folks whore like, you know, if you really believe 0:06:58.160 --> 0:07:00.800 in yourself and you really are about this thing, you 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:02.479 might have to give up what other people will be like, 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:06.560 you're crazy to give that up. Yeah, and listen, there's 0:07:06.600 --> 0:07:10.040 times that I've done things spontaneously because my gut instinct 0:07:10.080 --> 0:07:13.280 told me to do it. I feel that I trust that. 0:07:13.520 --> 0:07:16.240 It's like I love to gamble, right, and when I 0:07:16.280 --> 0:07:19.320 play blackjack, there are certain times when you have to 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:21.840 figure out am I gonna hit or am I gonna stay? 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:25.440 And you have an option because you could go either way. 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:27.400 You could bust or you could beat the dealer. You 0:07:27.440 --> 0:07:29.960 don't know, and so sometimes you do have to jump 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:33.400 out there and take that risk. But I also say 0:07:33.440 --> 0:07:36.200 that you have to know a like try to make 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:39.480 sure that you lessen whatever chance a failure that there is. 0:07:39.520 --> 0:07:41.480 So do everything that you can to get your ducks 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:43.000 in a row. If you are going to just leap 0:07:43.040 --> 0:07:46.200 out there and do it and be trust your instinct 0:07:46.280 --> 0:07:49.200 is everything is telling you don't do this, and this happened, 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:52.360 and then this unfortunate thing happened, and you know, then 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:54.880 maybe it's not the right time. And I do pay 0:07:54.960 --> 0:07:58.840 attention to signs because it's helped me a lot. You know, 0:07:58.880 --> 0:08:00.840 there was an interview I was watching that you did 0:08:00.920 --> 0:08:02.760 and you're talking about, you know, there was a previous 0:08:02.840 --> 0:08:05.240 job you had where you had a bad manager days 0:08:05.680 --> 0:08:07.760 yelled at you at one point and you were like, 0:08:07.840 --> 0:08:09.720 you know, you were you were doing marketing, I think, 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:12.600 and you're like, you know, I'm out and the clients 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:14.880 you were working with, like they going with inlet, like 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:17.080 they left that company and decided to work with you 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:20.800 separate from your relationship with that company. So can you 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:23.600 talk a little bit about knowing your value, particularly in 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:25.080 the world we live in today, to where there's so 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:28.240 many people who can could work freelance and work for themselves, 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:30.880 but feel like, you know, they need that security of 0:08:31.200 --> 0:08:34.280 an employer. You know, at that time, I didn't know 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:36.839 my value. I had no idea that would happen. That 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:40.640 was an emotional decision. I never one thing that's like 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:43.200 a deailbreaker for me when it comes to work, when 0:08:43.200 --> 0:08:47.160 it comes to relationships, is I don't I don't deal 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:52.439 with people speaking to me in disrespectful way or yelling 0:08:52.480 --> 0:08:54.559 at me, because that's not the energy that I give. 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:56.280 But I know some people are okay with that, and 0:08:56.320 --> 0:08:58.920 some people, you know, communicate that way. That's not me, 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:01.840 and I'm very clear about that. And So I had 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:04.440 been working really hard and not getting paid a lot 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:06.960 and bringing in a lot of business. And he was 0:09:07.000 --> 0:09:09.640 just upset that I was doing these side gigs because 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:11.320 I wasn't getting paid a lot. But I was honest 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:13.520 about it. He only knew about it because I told them, 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:16.040 and he said that was fine, because you're not paying 0:09:16.040 --> 0:09:18.760 me what I should be making. And so when he 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:21.040 blew up on me because of the same thing that 0:09:21.160 --> 0:09:23.719 I had been honest about came to him about and 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:26.920 that he had approved, I just got my stuff and left. 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:29.800 I already was fed up, and so I just walked out, 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:32.160 took my laptop because he didn't even have computers for it. 0:09:32.360 --> 0:09:34.760 So I took my laptop. It got out of there, 0:09:35.240 --> 0:09:39.360 and you know, to me, I did bring in a 0:09:39.400 --> 0:09:41.320 lot of those clients, and I did write up the 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:43.880 whole marketing proposals, and I was the person everybody was 0:09:43.920 --> 0:09:46.640 talking to on a daily basis. So when I left, 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:49.200 everyone was reaching out to me like, well, we really 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:52.160 enjoyed working with you. And that was a learning lesson 0:09:52.240 --> 0:09:54.160 from me to know that I could do something on 0:09:54.200 --> 0:09:56.840 my own, because you know, I had always worked at 0:09:56.840 --> 0:09:59.959 a company. So after that, I just started freelancing because 0:10:00.360 --> 0:10:02.679 I had got three good clients from him that were 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:05.439 paying me a monthly fee, and I had gotten two 0:10:05.440 --> 0:10:07.520 on my own outside of that, so I was making 0:10:07.559 --> 0:10:09.120 a nice amount of money and not having to be 0:10:09.160 --> 0:10:12.680 in the office. Wow, yeah, you've been in radio. I 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:16.440 think with twenty seven years now more, how long have 0:10:16.520 --> 0:10:20.400 I now, I've been in radio for nineteen years because 0:10:20.440 --> 0:10:23.800 you did morning shows, afternoons shows, and other things like. 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:26.760 There's an important part of research that you have to 0:10:26.800 --> 0:10:29.360 do daily to be up on what's happening in the world, 0:10:29.760 --> 0:10:31.720 and it requires you to know a lot about a 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:34.079 little You know a little about a lot of things. 0:10:34.280 --> 0:10:37.400 I should say, you know, how how would you say 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:42.440 that research experience that you've had has helped you in business? 0:10:42.440 --> 0:10:44.480 Knowing a little bit about a lot of different things, 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:48.000 it is great. Like I had a meeting with somebody 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:50.240 the other day and we were talking about boxing in 0:10:50.320 --> 0:10:54.080 the meeting because he owns a league, and so I know, 0:10:54.640 --> 0:10:56.920 you know a bit about boxing because I enjoyed the sport, 0:10:56.920 --> 0:10:59.560 but because I've also interviewed a lot of boxers and 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:01.720 I pay attention to that, and I watched the fights, 0:11:01.800 --> 0:11:05.760 and so you get in certain situations where just having 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:07.760 being able to add to the conversation. That's why I 0:11:07.840 --> 0:11:09.880 tell people, when I was younger, I really didn't watch 0:11:09.880 --> 0:11:12.280 the news and pay attention to what was going on. 0:11:12.320 --> 0:11:14.439 But I tell people all the time, just make sure 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:16.560 you keep up on current events. You don't have to, 0:11:17.040 --> 0:11:19.800 you know, deep dive into everything and know all but 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:21.960 be able to have a conversation, know what some of 0:11:22.000 --> 0:11:25.160 the main headlines are, because those things really do help 0:11:25.200 --> 0:11:27.000 when you're at a dinner and people are talking and 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:29.560 you don't want to just be there, have no idea 0:11:29.600 --> 0:11:31.320 what's going on in the world. And I used to 0:11:31.360 --> 0:11:33.240 be like that. I used to not have any idea. 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:35.000 I used to not pay attention to the news when 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:37.480 I was younger, and when I started doing radio, I 0:11:37.520 --> 0:11:39.640 had to do all kinds of research just to know 0:11:39.679 --> 0:11:44.280 about the current events and the headline topics. Yeah, there's 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:47.120 this quote that I love from Steve Jobs, and he says, 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:49.680 you can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:52.200 connect the dots looking backward. And what I get from 0:11:52.200 --> 0:11:54.839 that is you never really know why you're doing something 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:57.280 in the moment until later on it's like, oh, that's 0:11:57.400 --> 0:11:58.920 you know it. Had I not done this thing, I 0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:01.440 wouldn't be able to be prepared for what I'm doing today. 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:03.960 And So if you look back on your life with 0:12:04.000 --> 0:12:08.079 that lens, what were you, know, one or two critical 0:12:08.440 --> 0:12:10.880 moments where you were in the moment, like what the 0:12:10.880 --> 0:12:13.839 heck am I doing? But then you look back and 0:12:13.880 --> 0:12:19.120 you're like, now it makes sense. Let's see, Well, definitely 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:20.800 the time when I quit my job and there was 0:12:20.840 --> 0:12:25.000 a I mean, let's see, there's so many times that 0:12:25.040 --> 0:12:26.800 I've just done. There was a time when I got 0:12:26.880 --> 0:12:30.200 offered a job, you know, at had ninety seven, and 0:12:30.240 --> 0:12:34.120 I didn't take it. And at the time, I really 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:36.520 didn't take it for practical reasons. It was less than 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:40.120 what I was already making. My name wouldn't have been 0:12:40.240 --> 0:12:43.680 on the title for the show, and so it was 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:45.800 like kind of to me in my head and stepped backwards. 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:48.120 But I feel like everyone else was like, you're crazy. 0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:50.160 How could you not take that? An opportunity like that 0:12:50.240 --> 0:12:52.560 and never comes. There's people who have been doing radio 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:55.080 their whole lives and would die for something like that. 0:12:55.720 --> 0:12:59.200 And I made a practical decision, and you know, now 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:02.000 that I look back, it was the right decision. At 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:06.040 the time, I was like second guessing myself, And now 0:13:06.040 --> 0:13:08.840 that I look back, I realized that what they offered me, 0:13:08.920 --> 0:13:11.240 it's so much harder to climb out when they start 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:14.000 you so low, and it shows like how they feel 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:16.120 about you and what they already think about you, And 0:13:16.200 --> 0:13:19.040 so that wouldn't have been the right way for me 0:13:19.160 --> 0:13:21.320 to embark on a situation when I was leaving a 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:24.360 place that really wanted me, right, Like, they offered me 0:13:24.400 --> 0:13:26.959 more money to stay, they offered to give me the 0:13:26.960 --> 0:13:29.360 show with my name on it, to name it whatever 0:13:29.400 --> 0:13:32.280 I wanted to. And that's where you want to be 0:13:32.320 --> 0:13:35.040 in someplace where somebody really really wants you. That's where 0:13:35.040 --> 0:13:36.640 you want to be, no matter what if it's worked 0:13:36.720 --> 0:13:41.640 or yeah, and show me you care. And then when 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:45.240 I left, I'm serious to go to I Heeart. That 0:13:45.400 --> 0:13:48.000 was something that everybody was like, Oh my god, FM 0:13:48.080 --> 0:13:51.400 radio is dying. Why would you do that? You barely 0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:54.160 get to talk? And I was just ready to start 0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:57.160 something new. They were the underdog station, you know, if 0:13:57.240 --> 0:13:59.679 the Breakfast Club hadn't done well, that station was gonna 0:13:59.679 --> 0:14:02.319 flip to a whole other format. And so a lot 0:14:02.480 --> 0:14:05.240 was writing on that. But I feel like that's when 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:08.240 you really are the best, when you can go with 0:14:08.480 --> 0:14:12.319 a company that is the underdog and come out on top, 0:14:12.720 --> 0:14:14.960 and then after that the sky is the limit. And 0:14:15.000 --> 0:14:17.240 so for me, that's what it was, just to be 0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:20.760 able to go and leave a situation that was comfortable, 0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:24.240 but I just didn't see any growth there for me 0:14:24.680 --> 0:14:27.880 to go in someplace where I could be uncomfortable but grow. 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:30.800 You know, you said something there where you talked about, 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:32.560 you know, it's really hard to climb out when you 0:14:32.600 --> 0:14:35.360 start somewhere so low. Can you talk a little bit 0:14:35.440 --> 0:14:39.640 more about that and just conceptually talk about that. Well, 0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:42.000 one thing I did learn is that a lot of 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:45.600 times when we get offered something, people don't negotiate, and 0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:48.880 so it was really important to be able to negotiate. 0:14:49.000 --> 0:14:53.280 And so when you start off, say somebody offers you 0:14:54.400 --> 0:14:57.360 fifty thousand dollars a year, and you're like, okay, I'll 0:14:57.360 --> 0:14:59.680 take it. Well, then now next year, when I'm asking 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:02.160 for a raise, I can't say I want one hundred 0:15:02.200 --> 0:15:05.720 and fifty thousand dollars. That just sounds like wow, you know, 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:08.080 how did that happen? So now you're like, okay, can 0:15:08.120 --> 0:15:10.760 I get sixty five thousand? And then the next year 0:15:10.800 --> 0:15:13.640 and so now you're climbing out of a situation where 0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:16.000 when they first offered it to you. If somebody offered 0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:18.000 you fifty thousand, that means that they have way more 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:20.960 than that. You know, That's what I always assume. And 0:15:21.040 --> 0:15:24.680 so even when negotiating for bookings for different things. You know, 0:15:24.720 --> 0:15:28.520 people generally tend to start low because they anticipate that 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:30.480 you'll come back high and that you'll meet somewhere in 0:15:30.520 --> 0:15:33.520 the middle. And so there's times that I've you know, 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:37.280 negotiated and then they accepted too fast and I was like, damn, 0:15:40.160 --> 0:15:42.560 you know. And then there's sometimes that it's not about 0:15:42.600 --> 0:15:45.720 the money. And so if it's not about the money, 0:15:45.720 --> 0:15:47.600 then cool, But you also want people to know your 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:49.960 value and worth. You don't want somebody to say, well, 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:52.760 I offered her, you know, five thousand dollars and she 0:15:52.800 --> 0:15:54.960 took it. Why would you pay her twenty thousand dollars? 0:15:55.360 --> 0:15:57.480 And so it's just important for you because people do 0:15:57.560 --> 0:16:00.280 talk to each other and they ask each other. You know, 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:02.720 early in your career, you started out as an intern 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:05.880 for the Woutang clan. Can you first talked about how 0:16:06.000 --> 0:16:08.600 you found yourself in these roles and what you feel 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:10.880 like was the reason you took that role and why 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:15.200 they accepted you in that role? I think, well, for 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:17.320 a lot of it was always relationships for me when 0:16:17.320 --> 0:16:20.760 I was starting out. So one of my good friends, Scottie, 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:23.520 he actually owns the studio engine room where I do 0:16:23.640 --> 0:16:27.400 my podcast lip Service. I knew him when I was 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:30.960 in high school. He went to Howard University and he 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:34.400 was really good friends with my boyfriend at the time, 0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:37.560 and so that's how we met. Now, mind you that guy, 0:16:37.720 --> 0:16:39.320 you know, I don't talk to him at all anymore, 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:41.960 but Scottie and I kept in touch and when I 0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:45.400 was in college, he was like, Hey, my friend worked 0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:47.800 at Woutang for Woutang Management and they're looking for an 0:16:47.840 --> 0:16:50.640 intern and I recommended you, so I think you should go, 0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:53.760 you know, go do that. And so I was a 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:56.760 little nervous because Woutang didn't have the best reputation at 0:16:56.760 --> 0:16:58.840 the time. I was like, oh, they're kind of wild. 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:01.120 I don't know if that's the value meant I should 0:17:01.160 --> 0:17:04.080 be in. And so I went and then he called me. 0:17:04.119 --> 0:17:05.919 He was like, did you call my guy? And I 0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:08.160 was like, no, I haven't called him yet. He was like, Angela, 0:17:08.240 --> 0:17:10.159 please just call, you know, at least do the interview. 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:12.320 I told him you were coming, So I was like okay. 0:17:12.320 --> 0:17:14.360 So I went went on the interview and as soon 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:16.360 as I walked in and we had the conversation, there 0:17:16.359 --> 0:17:19.840 were like other people waiting. They hired me on the spot, 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:23.040 and so I don't know what it was about me, 0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:24.720 but they just hired me on the spot and that 0:17:24.840 --> 0:17:26.840 was that. And then I started working there. So it 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:30.000 was a relationship that I had from somebody who thought 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:32.560 that I would be good. And then afterwards, when I graduate, 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:34.560 they actually tried to get me to not finish college 0:17:35.000 --> 0:17:37.440 and come work there. It was my last It was 0:17:37.480 --> 0:17:40.160 the junior year before my senior year, and they wanted 0:17:40.200 --> 0:17:42.399 me to just work that, just come and not go 0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:43.480 to my last year. And I was like, no, not, 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:45.480 I think I'm in finished. I only have one year left. 0:17:45.840 --> 0:17:49.119 And then when I graduated, I ended up working there. Wow, 0:17:49.320 --> 0:17:51.560 what made you take that when so many other people 0:17:51.560 --> 0:17:53.399 would be like, okay, they want me full time. This 0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:55.840 is a music business. It's hard to get into any way. 0:17:56.480 --> 0:17:57.920 What gave you that said, you know, I'm going to 0:17:57.960 --> 0:18:05.120 finish school. My parents never went for that, bab never 0:18:05.280 --> 0:18:08.080 had to allow that to happen. And you know, even 0:18:08.160 --> 0:18:10.560 like that was my first job, and I know people 0:18:10.600 --> 0:18:12.119 weren't making that much money there, and I was like, 0:18:12.160 --> 0:18:13.800 they're not gonna pay me and for me to feel 0:18:13.800 --> 0:18:16.040 like I could survive on my own, and then I 0:18:16.080 --> 0:18:18.240 also felt like, I'm the type of person I like 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:21.919 to finish something if I started, and so I had 0:18:21.960 --> 0:18:24.960 one year left, and I was like, this isn't gonna, 0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:26.479 you know, go anywhere. And I knew that I had 0:18:26.520 --> 0:18:29.320 other things. I had interned at MTV, I had interned 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:32.000 at a record label. So I didn't think that that 0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:33.960 was all I would ever be able to do. So 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:35.800 I was I was just like, let me just get 0:18:35.840 --> 0:18:52.560 my degree. I came this fire. People in the public spotlight, 0:18:52.760 --> 0:18:55.399 like in Angela, as you can imagine, often get asked 0:18:55.400 --> 0:18:58.880 to be a mentor to up and commerce. Angela takes 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:01.040 to stay so that you should bring something to the 0:19:01.040 --> 0:19:05.000 table as a perspective mentee. If you want someone to mentor, 0:19:05.080 --> 0:19:08.000 you consider what you have to offer, not just what 0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:11.800 you want. Angela speaks on it. Yeah, being a mentor 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:14.480 is work. It's a job, you know, because now you 0:19:14.520 --> 0:19:18.600 have a responsibility. It's like having to, you know, show 0:19:18.640 --> 0:19:21.040